Yankees: Good news and bad news in loss to Detroit Tigers, Zack Britton injury

The New York Yankees took on the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon, falling 6-5. Featuring the majority of their starters, the offense was powered by several home runs — Jay Bruce and Gary Sanchez, who have been enjoying a phenomenal spring so far.

However, the pitching faltered after Deivi Garcia struck out five batters and allowed to hit over 3.0 innings.

Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:

The good news, young starter Garcia, looked phenomenal in his second appearance of spring training. As he competes for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, his latest bid certainly impressed the coaching staff.

His dangerous curve and accurate fastball have opened a few eyes, and at 21 years old, García is quickly justifying himself as a potential mid-rotation starter. Garcia is going to have to fend off Domingo German, who has also looked good this spring, but the Yankees have one of the best problems in baseball, too many good pitchers. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to say that regarding the starting rotation.

Offensively, Bruce is having himself a great start to his tenure with the Bombers, hitting multiple home runs in the first eight games of spring training. Bruce is showing that he should be on the active roster, and we all know how much the Yankees prefer sluggers.

“I know I’m good enough to be on the roster,” Bruce told reporters several days ago. “There’s no question, personally, about that in my opinion.”

The bad news is quite significant, as relief pitcher Zack Britton suffered an elbow injury during a bullpen session on Monday. He was sent to New York for more testing, and the results came back with poor news.

Britton will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip in his elbow, which luckily wasn’t Tommy John surgery. He will miss at least six weeks but will be able to re-join the team after his rehabilitation is finalized. This could’ve been much worse, so the Yankees got away with one, but injuries starting to pop up at significant positions is a bit concerning.